Sharp pain and a lump in the left lower abdomen area led Paola to visit a doctor while studying in Florida, US in June 2020. It wasn’t until October that she had an MRI that confirmed a 4.5 cm mass in her abdominal wall. She was initially misdiagnosed with metastatic cancer, but after surgery the pathologist determined that it was a desmoid tumor. The surgery also revealed that there were actually two tumors in the same area. An MRI in August 2021 confirmed that the surgery was a success and Paola is currently tumor-free.
“Although I am currently living tumor-free, I understand that there are high possibilities of recurrence and that the recovery from surgery has been long and sometimes challenging. This is the reason why I still hope for a definite cure for desmoid tumors.”
